Friday 31 July 2026
Band on the Wall, Manchester
★★★★★
Shez Raja and friends bring joy and virtuosity to a life-affirming gig
Shez Raja is a great communicator. Dressed in his trademark white suit and cap, he bounded on stage at last Friday’s gig at Manchester’s Band on the Wall with his bass guitar and a big smile, immediately establishing a rapport with the audience. Guthrie Govan, one of the world’s greatest guitarists and Hans Zimmer’s go-to live guitarist, raised a quizzical eyebrow slightly in greeting, leaving his fingers on the fretboard to do the talking. Drummer Sophie Alloway smiled beatifically throughout, like the ‘goddess of groove’, a sobriquet given to her by Jon Newey of Jazz FM. Keyboardist Chris Jerome, who has played with jazz legend Courtney Pine, played his astonishing keyboard runs and bass lines with passion, freeing up Raja to play high up the bass guitar fretboard. The four musicians combined to produce one of the most joyful and life-affirming gigs I have seen in a long time.
Live versions of two of the first two songs they played, Rabbits and Quantum Spirits, can be heard on Raja’s latest album Spellbound with the same forces. The opening song was a very early highlight, with Raja producing an incredibly funky sound, heavily treated by an effects pedal, while Govan played spacey, psychedelic guitar. The unexpected key changes suggested flights of angels. The band began to chill on Together We Fly, an Indian-tinged song that reflects Raja’s Punjabi roots, his bass recreating the melody that Fiza Haider sings on the album. At the end of the live rendition, Raja played a mellow, extended improvisation that evoked the sound of the sitar. And we stayed in the Indian subcontinent, an area Raja has visited with his father, for Maharaja from his 2021 album Tales from the Punjab. The song combined a lovely Indian-style bass melody with a touch of heavy metal, and it was a chance for Jerome to shine on keyboards.
Raja used his best communication skills in his sales pitch for the new album. He asked for the lights to be raised on the audience so he could see us: ‘You sound and look amazing’ (Shez, you flattered us…) He proudly introduced a vinyl copy of Spellbound, offering us a special deal which included Guthrie Govan’s guitar if you bought five copies.* But what if we didn’t have a turntable? Raja produced a CD copy of the new album, like a rabbit out of a hat. The queue at the merch stall to buy the album at the interval was longer than the queue for the gents, so his sales pitch was obviously a success.
The band did their own selling job, playing a blistering version of the title track, faster and funkier than on the album. Each band member demonstrated their virtuosity: Raja and Govan played unison duets, both making it look easy; Jerome played a passionate piano solo; Alloway played a superb solo that wasn’t quite a solo, her thunderous drums gently accompanied by the rest of the band as the ‘goddess’ continued to grace us with her smile.
The first half ended with ‘our craziest tune’, Get Cosmic, inspired by Raja’s study of ‘astronomy, astrophysics and astrobiology’, the latter being a posh term for the study of alien life-forms†. He invited aliens to join him onstage from the wings, but apparently they were too shy despite being serenaded by the Siren-like theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). The band created the sound of aliens and UFOs that brought to mind the psychedelic jams of Pink Floyd and Soft Machine at London’s UFO club (although, to be clear, those letters stood for Unlimited Freak Out rather than Unidentified Flying Object). Out of mist on the moor… appeared, not an alien as at the opening of Steven Wilson’s album The Overview… but a super-funky riff, then nice Rick Wright-style organ embellished by Govan’s phenomenal, bluesy solo. The speed of the song suddenly seemed to double, as Raja and Govan appeared mesmerised by their own virtuosity.
The second half began with Chakras on the Wall, again played faster than on the album. Govan shredded his guitar with style, Jerome played quicksilver keyboards, Alloway provided a brief drum solo, and Raja leapt about the stage; the band were exuberant in their joyful virtuosity. They playfully (now Govan smiled) exchanged riffs from well-known songs, the names of which can’t possibly be revealed to avoid the band being sued, as Raja quipped. A stunning version of Vishnu featured a gentle breakdown section as Raja and Govan duetted, followed by an almost heavy metal riff with furiously rhythmic drumming from Alloway. Govan continued to smile, before an amazing solo required his full concentration, prompting massive applause from the sold-out venue. Raja began Quiverwish with some Mark King-style thumb slapping. The band took flight, flowing effortlessly.
Raja announced that was all they had time for and went offstage. It took a cash ‘bribe’ from Govan to entice him back on again. Ever the salesman, Raja asked us to sign up to his mailing list, while the rest of the band wittily played an excerpt from Postman Pat.
The encore was My Imaginary Friend, in an impossibly funky version, with stunning synth solos from Jerome, and a loose-limbed drum solo from Alloway. A final flourish, which we applauded enthusiastically, turned out to be a false ending; the real final flourish prompted a standing ovation as Raja raised his bass aloft in triumph. A stunning ending to a stunning gig.
*This offer may not have been real…
† This may be an oversimplification…
This article was corrected at 09.54 on Wednesday 5 August to show that the encore was My Imaginary Friend, not Freedom as previously stated.
Shez Raja plays at Jazz Cafe, Camden on 29 August
Personnel
Shez Raja bass guitar
Guthrie Govan electric guitar
Sophie Alloway drums
Chris Jerome keys
Setlist
Rabbits
Quantum spirits
Together we fly
Maharaja
Spellbound
Get cosmic
Chakras on the wall
Vishnu
Quiverwish
My Imaginary Friend
Now read on…
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